Supreme Court notice to Modi government, WhatsApp on plea alleging low privacy standards
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the Narendra Modi government (Centre) and WhatsApp within four weeks on a fresh plea alleging lower standards of privacy for Indians in comparison to European users of the messaging app. The top court said that people have grave apprehensions that they will lose their privacy, […]
Don’t join WhatsApp if not accepting new policy: Delhi High Court
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday said accepting the new privacy policy of social messaging app WhatsApp was a “voluntary” thing and one can choose not to use or join that platform if one did not agree with its terms and conditions. “It is a private app. Don’t join it. It is a […]
WhatsApp delays policy rollout to May 15
NEW DELHI: WhatsApp has decided to delay the rollout of its new policy update to May 15 after massive criticism from users globally, including India, over concerns that data was being shared with its parent company Facebook. The move assumes significance for users in India given that the country is among the biggest markets for […]
WhatsApp delays new privacy policy by three months amid severe criticism
NEW DELHI: WhatsApp announced delaying by three months the implementation of a new privacy policy that has faced massive backlash with tens of millions of its users moving from the platform to rivals like Signal and Telegram. The policy change was originally scheduled to come into effect on February 8, the Facebook-owned company said. It […]
Traders’ body asks Modi government to ban WhatsApp, Facebook over new privacy policy
NEW DELHI: Traders’ body CAIT on Sunday wrote to Information and Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad demanding that the Narendra Modi government restrict WhatsApp from implementing its new privacy policy or impose a ban on the messaging app and its parent company Facebook. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) claimed that through the new […]
WhatsApp says latest does not change its data-sharing practices with Facebook
NEW DELHI: Facebook-owned WhatsApp on Saturday said its latest update – which has received criticism from a multitude of users globally – describes business communication and does not change its data-sharing practices with the social media giant. Earlier this week, WhatsApp had started rolling out in-app notifications to users about an update in its Terms of […]
WhatsApp starts payment service in India
NEW DELHI: WhatsApp on Friday said it is rolling out its payments services in India after receiving nod from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). In 2018, the Facebook-owned company had started testing its UPI-based payments service in India, which allows users to utilise the messaging platform to send and receive money. The testing […]
Congress alleges WhatsApp indirectly controlled by BJP, demands JPC probe
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday once again attacked the Narendra Modi government nexus with Facebook’s WhatsApp saying it is allegedly being controlled indirectly by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the matter. The Congress also demanded that WhatsApp should not be given the permission for starting […]
WhatsApp ‘alerted’ government of India of snooping in September; government says info was ‘incomplete’
NEW DELHI: WhatsApp had informed the Indian government in September that 121 Indian users were targeted by the Israeli spyware Pegasus, but IT ministry has contended that the information received from the messaging app earlier was inadequate and incomplete, according to sources. Sources at WhatsApp said the messaging platform has now responded to the government’s […]
IT Ministry asks WhatsApp to respond on spyware issue by November 4
NEW DELHI: The IT Ministry on Thursday sought a detailed response from WhatsApp on the issue of an Israeli spyware that was allegedly used to target Indian journalists and human rights activists through its platform. WhatsApp has been asked to submit its reply by November 4. The ministry has written to WhatsApp seeking its response […]
Indian journalists, activists were spied on using Israeli spyware: WhatsApp
NEW DELHI: Facebook-owned WhatsApp on Thursday said Indian journalists and human rights activists were among those globally spied upon by unnamed entities using an Israeli spyware Peagasus. WhatsApp said it was suing NSO Group, an Israeli surveillance firm, that is reportedly behind the technology that helped unnamed entities’ spies hack into phones of roughly 1,400 […]
WhatsApp seeks RBI nod to expand payment services to all users
NEW DELHI: WhatsApp Chief has written to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), seeking a formal nod to expand payments services to all its 200 million users in India. The messaging app, which has drawn fire from the government over spread of fake messages on its platform, continues to wait for a regulatory clearance to […]
Invest India, WhatsApp partner to empower Indian entrepreneurs and start-ups
NEW DELHI:Invest India through its flagship initiative Startup India has partnered with WhatsApp on a program that focuses on the proliferation of start-ups, promoting economic growth and generating employment opportunities in India. Dedicated to driving success and enhancing grassroots innovation, WhatsApp will invest quarter of a million dollars as seed funding to the top 5 […]